In the last year, I have been approached to consult on a number of legal cases that center around disputes over whether a given sex act constituted consensual BDSM or sexual violence. This prompted me to do more extensive research into the area of BDSM and the law, which led me to a recent book titled Consensual Violence: Sex, Sports, and the Politics of Injuryby Dr. Jill Weinberg, who happens to be both a sociologist and a lawyer. I decided to give it a read and I’m glad I did because it was nothing short of fascinating.

I recently had the pleasure of reading Dr. Alice Dreger’s latest book, Galileo’s Middle Finger. This book had actually been on my reading list for over a year, but it took me a while to get around to it because I essentially work two full-time jobs between my academic position and all of the blogging/writing I do.

Oh, and I try to have a personal life on top of that—try being the operative word there.

Given that I have precious little time for pleasure reading these days, I select the books I want to read very carefully. Dreger’s book was a natural choice for me, though, because it had come highly recommended from several colleagues and also because I developed a bit of a Twitter crush on her after she live-tweeted her high school son’s sex education class last year.

History is full of examples of governmental and religious authorities going to great lengths to regulate people’s sex lives. Of course, these efforts continue in the modern world--however, sex today isn't regulated to quite the same extent as it was in the past, at least in the Western world.

A brand new addition to the blog is the Featured Book Series, in which I will review and analyze books relevant to human sexuality that I hope will be of interest to readers. Think of this as an opportunity to get some ideas for summer reading material, as well as an opportunity to participate in a virtual book club (discussion is encouraged!). I’m kicking things off with Sex at Dawn: How We Mate, Why We Stray, and What It Means for Modern Relationships (2010; Harper Collins). I realize this isn’t a new book and some of you may already be familiar with it, but I’m starting here because it is fresh in my mind from having assigned it in my Human Sexuality course this past semester. This is actually the very first time I have assigned a mass-market paperback as reading material in a college course, which should tell you that this is a book I think is definitely worth checking out.

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